U-20 WNT Head Coach Michelle French Calls 27 Players to Camp in Seattle Where Final U-20 Women's World Cup Roster Will be Selected

CHICAGO (July 2, 2014) – U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team head coach Michelle French has named 27 players for a two-week training camp being held from July 9-23 in Seattle, Washington, that will be the final event before the USA departs for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

TheU-20 WNT is coming off a successful two-match stint in France where it defeated its French counterparts, who will also be competing in Canada, by 1-0 and 2-1 score lines.

Following the camp in Seattle, French will name the 21 players who will represent the USA in the seventh FIFA championship for this age level. The first two were held as U-19 tournaments in 2002 and 2004 with the last four being staged as U-20 events.

The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will run from Aug. 5-24 in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 1994, are age-eligible for the tournament. The USA was drawn into Group B and will open its tournament on Aug. 5 in Edmonton against Germany, who the U.S. beat in the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final. The U-20 WNT will then face Brazil on Aug. 8 in Edmonton and finish group play against China PR on Aug. 12 in Moncton.

"As we head into our final camp prior to the World Cup, there is certainly a heightened feeling of excitement and anticipation as we look to put the final pieces in place," said French. "At the conclusion of this camp, we’ll have our final roster and will also have layered in some final key elements to help in our overall performance on the field once we get to Canada."

The training camp roster features 17 players who helped the USA qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup by winning the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship last January in the Cayman Islands.

Two players, defenders Cari Roccaro and Stephanie Amack, are holdovers from the U.S. team that won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, while nine others represented the USA at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan.